Today, U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) released the following statement after attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new union-built GEMS Solar Park in Gloucester Township.

“During my time as a state senator and now as a U.S. Representative, I have championed the development of solar power in New Jersey as a source of clean energy and good-paying jobs,” said Congressman Norcross. “I’m proud to support towns across the state to invest in solar projects, especially with the billions in federal funds included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to increase the security of our energy supply and reduce our carbon footprint in the process.”

The GEMS Solar Park was built with union labor by IBEW Local 351, the same local union that Congressman Norcross began his career in as an electrician. In Congress, he has been an outspoken proponent of America’s transition to clean energy in response to the climate crisis and as a growth industry that will produce good-paying jobs in the solar and offshore wind sectors.

The GEMS Solar Park is estimated to produce 6 million kWh of clean zero-emissions power per year. The clean energy produced will annually offset 4,313 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of emissions from 10.83 million miles driven by a typical passenger vehicle, or 4.76 million pounds of coal burned. The offset of carbon at GEMS each year equals the amount of carbon sequestered by 5,284 acres of forest in one year.